Process for the Preparation of a Spreadable Dispersion Comprising Sterol

ABSTRACT

Process for the preparation of a spreadable edible dispersion wherein a mixture of oil and solid structuring agent particles is subjected to stirring and an aqueous phase and/or solid phase is gradually added to the mixture until a dispersion of the desired oil content is obtained, wherein the solid structuring agent particles have a microporous structure of submicron size particles and comprise sterol.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of aspreadable edible dispersion comprising oil and structuring agent, inparticular to such dispersions comprising oil and structuring agent ascontinuous phase and a dispersed phase. The dispersed phase may be anaqueous liquid (thus forming a water-in-oil emulsion) and/or a solidparticulate matter (thus forming a suspension).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Edible dispersions comprising oil and structuring agent are well known.Examples of well-known products that substantially consist of suchedible dispersions are water-in-oil emulsions, such as for instancemargarines and spreads. These edible dispersions typically have an oilphase that is a blend of liquid oil and fat that is solid at normalambient temperature (20° C.). This solid fat, often also designated ashardstock, acts as structuring agent, and its function is to stabilisethe dispersion. For a margarine or spread, ideally the structuring agenthas such properties that it should have melted or dissolved at mouthtemperature, otherwise the product has a heavy, waxy mouthfeel.

US 2002/0076476 discloses edible oil-in-water emulsions having sensorialproperties resembling those of mayonnaise having reduced oil content.This is achieved by using small-sized oil droplets in combination withcasein.

EP 1 197 153 relates to aqueous phase dispersions or suspensionscomprising high melting lipids having a size of 15 microns or less incombination with a non-sterol emulsifier.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,944 relates to products containing microcrystallineplant sterol, a method of production for such products by pulverisationand to the use of said products for producing edible products.

Other known dispersions comprising oil and structuring agent aredisclosed in EP-A-775444 and WO 98/47386. Herein the dispersed phase isa dry particulate matter, such as e.g. flour, starch, salt, spices,herbs etc.

Generally, the edible dispersions comprising structuring agent areprepared according to prior art processes that encompass the followingsteps:

-   -   1) mixing/dispersion of the aqueous phase and/or the solid phase        and the oil phase, at a temperature where the oil phase,        including the structuring agent is liquid;    -   2) formation of a fat crystal network to stabilise the resulting        dispersion and give the product some degree of firmness;    -   3) modification of the crystal network to produce the desired        firmness and confer plasticity.

In case the dispersion is a low-fat water-in-oil emulsion spread (i.e.with a oil content of 45 wt. % or less), normally in step 1) aoil-in-water emulsion (premix) is formed, which in step 2) is inverted,so that a transition of the emulsion from oil-in-water to water-in oil(inversion) occurs. Inversion has a number of disadvantages: it isdifficult to control and rework (i.e. material that is not packed, butreturned to the premix, needs to be reinverted, which may lead toprocessing complications.

The steps 1)-3) are usually conducted in a process that involvesapparatus that allow heating, cooling and mechanical working of theingredients, such as the churn process or the votator process. The churnprocess and the votator process are described in Ullmanns Encyclopedia,Fifth Edition, Volume A 16 pages 156-158. Using these techniquesexcellent dispersions (spreads) having high emulsion stability and goodmelting properties in the mouth can be prepared.

However, a disadvantage of the known processes is that the processinvolves a heating step and a cooling step and therefore requires a lotof energy. In a dispersion with for instance 4 wt. % structuring agentthe whole weight of the dispersion (100 wt. %) needs to be heated andcooled.

Another disadvantage of the known processes is that the choice of fatsthat can practically be used as structuring agent is rather limited. Ifthe melting point of the structuring agent is too high the meltingproperties in the mouth are unsatisfactory. If on the other hand, themelting point is too low, the emulsion stability will be negativelyaffected. Moreover the amount of saturated fatty acids in thestructuring agent is usually relatively high. Saturated fatty acids area known risk factor for cardiovascular health.

Further disadvantage of the known processes is that the product maydeteriorate due to the changes in temperature caused by the heating andcooling step and that heat-sensitive ingredients cannot be incorporated.

Additionally, when low-fat spreads are prepared an inversion step isusually needed, which is difficult to control and has rework problems.

Co-pending application PCT/EP2004/006544 describes edible dispersions,including water-in-oil emulsions, that comprise a structuring agenthaving a microporous structure of submicron size particles. Thewater-in-oil emulsion may be a table spread. In the examples pourableemulsions and pourable dispersions were described. The edibledispersions may for instance be prepared by mixing an oil phase withstructuring agent particles with a separately prepared water phase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a process for thepreparation of a spreadable dispersion that requires less energy thanthe known processes. Another object is to provide such a process thatallows the use of more types of structuring agent, especially more sortsof hardstock. A further object of the invention is a reduction of theamount of saturated fatty acids in the hardstock. Still a further objectof the invention is to provide a process for the preparation of adispersion that allows the incorporation of heat-sensitive ingredientsand/or that avoids deterioration of the emulsion.

One or more of these objects is attained according to the inventionwhich provides a process for the preparation of a spreadable edibledispersion having a fat content of less than 70 wt. %, wherein a mixtureof oil and solid structuring agent particles is subjected to stirringand an aqueous phase is added to the mixture until a dispersion isobtained, wherein the solid structuring agent particles, also describedas secondary particles, have a microporous structure and said particlesare agglomerates of primary particles of submicron size, said primaryparticles are platelets having an average thickness of 0.01-0.5 μm andfurther (the solid structuring agent particles) comprise sterols.Gradually is herein defined as not adding the whole solid or aqueousphase at the start of the process, but in two or more portions atdifferent times during the process if conducted batchwise or in two ormore places in the process equipment in a continuous process.

With the process according to the invention, products are obtained thathave a smaller water droplet size (D3,3 as described herein) and afirmer structure (Stevens value as described herein) than productsprepared according to the prior art votator process. The smaller waterdroplet size leads to increased microbiological stability, so productmay be made that need less or no salt and/or preservative.

Further according to the invention low fat spreads may be prepared thatneed no thickener or gelling agent in the water phase. When low-fatspreads are prepared an additional advantage of the process according tothe invention is that no inversion is needed.

Contrary to the process described in Co-pending applicationPCT/EP2004/006544, in the present process the aqueous phase and/or solidphase is gradually added to the mixture until a dispersion of thedesired oil content is obtained. This makes the preparation ofdispersion having a relatively low oil content, i.e. below 45 wt. %,possible.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, an aqueous phase is added to a mixture ofoil and solid structuring agent particles which is stirred, until adispersion is obtained. A dispersion is herein defined as a system inwhich two or more phases that are insoluble or only slightly soluble aredistributed in one another.

The dispersion may be an emulsion, a suspension or foam or anycombination thereof, it may be oil continuous, water continuous orbi-continuous. Preferably the dispersion is oil continuous, morepreferably an oil continuous emulsion or oil continuous suspension.

Where a solid phase is present in the dispersion according to theinvention, it is preferably a solid phase of dry particulate matter.

Where an aqueous phase is present in the dispersion according to theinvention, it is preferably a dispersed aqueous phase.

The amounts given will be expressed in wt. % relative to the totalweight of the food composition, unless indicated otherwise.

Fat and oil may sometimes be used interchangeably herein, for instancefat phase and oil phase and fat content or oil content may be used toindicate the same.

According to the invention spreadable edible dispersions are providedcomprising micronised structuring agent particles wherein saidstructuring agent particles, also described as secondary particles, havea microporous structure and said particles are agglomerates of primaryparticles of submicron size, said primary particles are platelets havingan average thickness of 0.01-0.5 μm, wherein the dispersion has aStevens value, measured at room temperature as defined herein of 30 g ormore, preferably 50 g or more, more preferably 80 g or more and mostpreferably 100 g or more, said dispersion also comprising sterol.

Preferably the fat content of the spreadable dispersion of the inventionis from 10-70 wt. %, for example 45 wt. % or less, preferably 33-69.65wt. %.

Preferably the dispersion is a low-fat water-in-oil emulsion spreadhaving a fat content of 45 wt. % or less, more preferred 33-45 wt. %.

The invention further provides a low-fat water-in-oil emulsion spreadcomprising sterol, having a fat content of 45 wt. % or less, a Stevensvalue measured at room temperature as defined herein of 60 g or more anda saturated fat content (SAFA) of 25 wt. % or less. SAFA content (wt. %)is herein expressed based on the weight of the fat phase.

In a preferred embodiment, the low-fat emulsion spread comprises from 3to 25 wt. % sterol, more preferred from 7 to 15 wt. % sterol.

Preferably the spreadable edible dispersions according to the inventionhas a low water droplet size, preferably the water droplet size asdefined herein is 10 μm or less, more preferably 5 μm or less.

According to the invention, the dispersion is formed by mixing oil, thesolid structuring agent particles comprising sterols, and the otherphase or phases of the dispersion, such as for example an aqueous phase,a solid phase and/or a gas phase.

According to the invention, the solid structuring agent particles (alsodescribed herein as secondary particles) should have a microporousstructure of submicron size particles (also described herein as primaryparticles) and further they comprise sterol.

The secondary particles are agglomerates of primary particles which havea microporous structure. The size of the primary particles is submicron(that is they have a diameter below 1μ).

An example of a microporous structure is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 ofPCT/EP2004/006544. The primary particles typically have the shape asshown in FIG. 7, in which the platelets with submicron dimensions arethe primary particles. The thickness of the platelets should besubmicron, preferably the thickness is on average 0.01-0.5 μm, morepreferably 0.03-0.2 μm, even more preferably 0.06-0.12 μm.

Equivalent good results were obtained for a secondary particles having amicroporous structure of more bubble-like shape, such as shown in FIG.10 of PCT/EP2004/006544. In such microporous structure the wallthickness of the bubbles should be submicron, for instance on average0.01-0.5 μm, more preferably 0.03-0.2 μm, even more preferably 0.06-0.12μm.

The secondary particles, may, in the course of the preparation of thedispersion, for instance through the force of a mixer, be broken intosubmicron particles. The resulting submicron particles will form thestructuring network of the dispersion.

The structuring agent comprises sterol. Where reference is made tosterol this includes the saturated stanols and esterified derivatives ofsterol/stanol or mixtures of any of these.

In this application where reference is made to sterolester, this alsoincludes their saturated derivatives, the stanol esters, andcombinations of sterol- and stanol esters.

Sterols or phytosterols, also known as plant sterols or vegetablesterols can be classified in three groups, 4-desmethylsterols,4-monomethylsterols and 4,4′-dimethylsterols. In oils they mainly existas free sterols and sterol esters of fatty acids although sterolglucosides and acylated sterol glucosides are also present. There arethree major phytosterols namely beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol andcampesterol. Schematic drawings of the components meant are as given in“Influence of Processing on Sterols of Edible Vegetable Oils”, S. P.Kochhar; Prog. Lipid Res. 22: pp. 161-188.

The respective 5 alpha-saturated derivatives such as sitostanol,campestanol and ergostanol and their derivatives are in thisspecification referred to as stanols.

Preferably the (optionally esterified) sterol or stanol is selected fromthe group comprising fatty acid ester of β-sitosterol, β-sitostanol,campesterol, campestanol, stigmasterol, brassicasterol, brassicastanolor a mixture thereof.

The sterols or stanols are optionally at least partly esterified with afatty acid. Preferably the sterols or stanols are esterified with one ormore C₂₋₂₂ fatty acids. For the purpose of the invention the term C₂₋₂₂fatty acid refers to any molecule comprising a C₂₋₂₂ main chain and atleast one acid group. Although not preferred within the present contextthe C₂₋₂₂ main chain may be partially substituted or side chains may bepresent. Preferably, however the C₂₋₂₂ fatty acids are linear moleculescomprising one or two acid group(s) as end group(s). Most preferred arelinear C₈₋₂₂ fatty acids as these occur in natural oils.

Suitable examples of any such fatty acids are acetic acid, propionicacid, butyric acid, caproic acid, caprylic acid, capric acid. Othersuitable acids are for example citric acid, lactic acid, oxalic acid andmaleic acid. Most preferred are myristic acid, lauric acid, palmiticacid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, behenic acid, oleic acid, cetoleicacid, erucic acid, elaidic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid.

When desired a mixture of fatty acids may be used for esterification ofthe sterols or stanols. For example, it is possible to use a naturallyoccurring fat or oil as a source of the fatty acid and to carry out theesterification via an interesterification reaction.

The amount of sterol in the structuring agent is preferably from 80 to100 wt. % on total weight of the structuring agent.

Preferably, the structuring agent comprises edible lipid, morepreferably it is edible fat. Edible fats consist predominantly oftriglycerides. Typically such edible fats suitable as structuring agentare mixtures of triglycerides, some of which have a melting point higherthan room or ambient temperature and therefore contain solids in theform of crystals.

The solid structuring agent, also denoted as hardstock, serves tostructure the fat phase and helps to stabilise the dispersion.

For imparting to common margarine a semi-solid, plastic, spreadableconsistency this stabilising and structuring functionality plays animportant role. The crystals of the solid fat form a network throughoutthe liquid oil resulting into a structured fat phase. The aqueous phasedroplets are fixed within the spaces of the lattice of solid fatcrystals. In this way coalescence of the droplets and separation of theheavier aqueous phase from the fat phase is prevented.

The process according to the invention may be executed batch-wise orcontinuous. Conventional unit operations and apparatus, e.g. mixers,pumps and extruders may be used. A suitable process flow diagram for acontinuous process according to the invention is given in FIG. 1.Micronised fat may be added to the premix or via the inlet (5),preferably at least part of the micronised fat is added via inlet (5).

Further common ingredients of the fat phase are emulsifiers, such asmonoglycerides and lecithin, colouring agents and flavours.

The solid structuring agent particles (secondary particles) preferablyhave an average particle size (D_(3,2)) of 60 micrometer or less, morepreferably the solid structuring agent particles have an averageparticle size of 30 micrometer or less. The average particle size(D_(3,2)) is determined as indicated in the examples.

Preferably the solid structuring agent particles are prepared using amicronisation process. In the micronisation process the solidstructuring agent particles are prepared by preparing a homogeneousmixture of structuring agent and liquified gas or supercritical gas at apressure of 5-40 MPa and expanding the mixture through an orifice, undersuch conditions that a spray jet is applied in which the structuringagent is solidified and micronised. The liquified gas or supercriticalgas may be any gas that may be used in the preparation of food products,for example carbondioxide, nitrogen, propane, ethane, xenon or othernoble gases. Carbondioxide and propane are preferred. Carbondioxide ismost preferred. Advantages of carbondioxide are that it has a mild (31°C.) critical temperature, it is non-flammable, nontoxic, environmentallyfriendly and it may be obtained from existing industrial processeswithout further contribution to the greenhouse effect. It is fairlymiscible with oil and is readily recovered owing to its high volatilityat ambient conditions. Finally liquid CO₂ is the second least expensivesolvent after water.

The temperature of the mixture of structuring agent and liquified gas orsupercritical gas is preferably such that the mixture forms ahomogeneous mixture. Advantageously, the temperature of the mixture ofstructuring agent and liquified gas or supercritical gas is below theslip melting point of the structuring agent at atmospheric pressure andabove the temperature at which phase separation of the mixture occurs.Under such conditions the smallest micronised particles may be obtained.

The pressure and temperature of the mixture of structuring agent andliquefied or supercritical gas is preferably such that a large amount ofthe gas may be dissolved in the structuring agent. The amount dissolvedwill be determined by the phase diagram of the mixture of structuringagent and liquified or supercritical gas. At higher pressures as well asat lower temperatures more gas will dissolve in the structuring agent.

Preferably the temperature and pressure are chosen such that 10 wt. % ormore, more preferably 20 wt. % or more or most preferably 30 wt. % ormore of gas is dissolved in the liquid phase. The mixture of structuringagent and liquified or supercritical gas may contain additionalsubstances, such as for instance oil. We have found that the addition ofoil may reduce sintering of the micronised particles of the structuringagent.

The mixture containing structuring agent and liquefied or supercriticalgas is depressurized over a small orifice or nozzle, to break up themixture into small droplets. The break-up of the mixture into dropletscan be assisted e.g. by internals inside the nozzle before the orificeto generate a whirl, or by passing a gas at a high flow rate near theorifice.

The mixture is depressurized into a volume where the pressure is higherthan, equal to or lower than atmospheric pressure.

We have found that sintering, agglomeration and ripening of micronisedparticles of the structuring agent will lead to a reduced performance ofthe particles for structuring the dispersion.

To avoid sintering, agglomeration and/or ripening of the micronisedparticles, preferably a gas jet is applied in addition to the flow ofthe spray jet. The additional gas jet is most effective when the gas jetis positioned such that recirculation of material expanded through theorifice is reduced or avoided. Especially advantageous is a positionwherein the gas from the gas jet flows essentially tangentially to theflow direction of the spray jet. Most advantageously the gas inlet forthe gas jet is positioned behind the exit of the nozzle, see FIG. 2 ofPCT/EP2004/006544. This figure shows that the additional gas inlet (1)behind the exit of the nozzle (2) creates a gas flow (3) tangentially tothe flow of the spray jet (4).

A further preferred edible dispersion according to the invention is adispersion of a solid matter, preferably a dry particulate matter,dispersed in a continuous phase of oil and structuring agent. Preferredmaterial for the dry particulate matter is one or more of flour, starch,salt, herbs (e.g. dried herbs), spices and mixtures thereof. Preferablyin such dispersions, the amount of solid matter is 30-75 wt. %, morepreferably 40-65 wt. % based on total weight of the dispersion.

The amount of structuring agent should be such that a suitably stabledispersion is obtained. When the structuring agent is micronised sterolor a combination of micronised sterol and micronised fat, the amount ispreferably 1-20 wt. %, more preferably 4-12 wt. % based on total weightof the dispersion.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 Process flow diagram for a continuous process. (1) designates apremix vessel, (2) a pump, (3) a high shear mixer, (4) an extruder typemixer and (5) a feed entrance for micronised fat.

EXAMPLES

General

Method to Determine Slip Melting Point

The slip melting point of structuring agent is determined in accordancewith F. Gunstone et al, The Lipid Handbook, second edition, Chapman andHall, 1995, page 321, Point 6.2.3, Slip point.

Method to Determine D_(3,2) of the Particle Size Distribution ofMicronised Fat Particles

Low-angle laser light scattering (LALLS, Helos Sympatic) was used tomeasure the average particle size (D_(3,2)). The fat particles weresuspended in water in a quixel flow cuvette with an obscuration factorof 10-20%. The diffraction pattern was measured at 632.8 nm with a lensfocus of 100 mm and a measurement range of 0.5-175 μm. Calculations werebases on the Fraunhofer theory.

A full description of the principle of LALLS is given in ISO 13320-1.

Method to Determine D_(3,3) of Water Droplet Size Distribution in anEmulsion

The water droplet size was measured using a well-known low resolutionNMR measurement method. Reference is made to Van den Enden, J. C.,Waddington, D., Van Aalst, H., Van Kralingen, C. G., and Packer, K. J.,Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 140 (1990) p. 105.

Method to Determine Oil Exudation

Oil exudation is determined by measuring the height of the free oillayer that appears on top of the product. This free oil layer isconsidered a product defect. In order to measure oil exudation, theproduct is filled into a scaled glass cylinder of 50 ml. The fillingheight is 185 mm. The filled cylinder is stored in a cabinet at constanttemperature (15° C.). Height measurements are executed every week, bymeasuring the height of the exuded oil layer in mm with a ruler. Oilexudation is expressed as the height of the exuded oil layer divided bythe original filling height and expressed in %. Shaking of the cylindersshould be avoided.

Stevens Value

Stevens values give an indication about the firmness of a product. Thefirmness of all products stored at 5° C. for 24 hours was measured atroom temperature using a Stevens Texture Analyser (1 mm/sec, 25 mmdepth, 4.4. mm probe) and is quoted herein as the Stevens value (in g).

Example 1 Preparation of a Spreadable Margarine

A high-fat spreadable margarine was prepared with the composition shownin table 1:

TABLE 1 Composition of high-fat spreadable margarine Ingredient Amount(wt. %) Oil phase Sunflower oil 59.68 Micronised fat powder 9.64comprising sterol¹ Lecithin Bolec ZT¹ 0.32 Emulsifier Hymono 8903 0.20beta-carotene (0.4 wt. % 0.15 solution in sunflower oil) Water phaseWater 29.65 Potassium sorbate 0.08 Sodium chloride 0.28 ¹Hardstock fatas prepared in example 1 and 2 of EP-A-89082 which was micronised as inexample 1 of PCT/EP2004/006544. This hardstock was mixed with 50 wt. %beta sitosterol.

The water phase was prepared by adding salt and potassium sorbate todistilled water and adjusting the pH of distilled water from 7.7 to 4.0using 5 wt. % solution of citric acid in water, and heated for 5 minutesin a bath of 60° C. to dissolve the solids. The oil phase was preparedby dissolving the emulsifier ingredients and β-carotene in the totalamount of sunflower oil at 60° C. and cooled down to 15° C. afterwards.Subsequently the micronised fat powder was added to the oil phasecarefully using a spatula and the oil phase was mixed with a kitchenmixer (Philips Essence HR1357/05) for 2 minutes. Then the water phasewas added to the oil phase and the resulting mixture was mixed with themixer for another 5 minutes at ambient temperature. A droplet size(D3,3) of about 10 μm was obtained. The spread was put in a margarinetub and stored at 5° C. Results in table 3.

Example 2 Preparation of a Low-Fat Spread

A low-fat (33 wt. % fat) spreadable margarine spread was prepared withthe composition shown in table 2:

TABLE 2 Composition of low-fat spread Ingredient Amount (wt. %) Oilphase Sunflower oil 27.65 Micronised fat powder as 4.59 in example 1Lecithin Bolec ZT¹ 0.32 Emulsifier Hymono 8903 0.33 (monoglyceride)Beta-carotene (0.4 wt. % 0.15 solution in sunflower oil) Water phaseWater 66.60 Potassium sorbate 0.08 Sodium chloride 0.28

The micronised fat powder was mixed with half of the oil to obtain a fatpowder/oil slurry. The fat/oil slurry was then stirred manually in theremainder of the oil to make the oil phase. In the next step the oilphase (slurry) was put in an EscoLabor device and half of the waterphase was added to the oil phase. The EscoLabor vessel was kept at 5° C.The water and oil phase were mixed under vacuum.

The scraper speed was found to be 80% of the maximum rotational speedand power of the Ultra Turrax was found to be optimal at 50% of maximumpower. During the mixing of the oil- and water phases the remainingamount of water was added cautiously within 5 minutes. This yielded ahomogeneous but very thick fat continuous product after 15 minutes.After 15 a droplet size (D3,3) of 3 μm was obtained. This low fat spreadwas evaluated after 4 weeks of storage at 5° C. Results are given intable 3.

TABLE 3 Stevens values and fat level low-fat micronised fat spread Fatlevel Stevens value Example (%) at 5° C. (g) Example 1 70 88 Example 233 112

Example 3

A spread was produced with a composition as in table 4. A stable spreadresulted. The water phase was made by mixing the salt in distilled waterand holding the mixture at room temperature. The fat phase was producedby adding the micronised fat powder to liquid oil using a spatula. Thewater phase and the oil phase were mixed using a home kitchen mixer.

It was possible to prepare a stable spread without emulsifier andthickener. The long term stability and/or consistency of the spreadwithout emulsifier may be improved by adding a thickener to the waterphase, e.g. 1 wt. % starch, a suitable starch type is Resistamyl 310.

TABLE 4 composition of example 3 Ingredient Amount (wt. %) Oil PhaseSunflower oil 33.87 Micronised fat powder 5.98 as in example 1Beta-carotene (0.4 wt. % 0.15 solution in Sunflower oil) Water phaseWater 59.5 Salt 0.5 100

1. Process for the preparation of a spreadable edible dispersion havinga fat content of 70 wt. % or less, wherein a mixture of oil and solidstructuring agent particles is subjected to stirring and an aqueousphase is added to the mixture until a dispersion is obtained, whereinthe solid structuring agent particles, also described as secondaryparticles, have a microporous structure and said particles areagglomerates of primary particles of submicron size, said primaryparticles are platelets having an average thickness of 0.01-0.5 μm andfurther the solid structuring agent particles comprise sterol. 2.Process according to claim 1, wherein the solid structuring agentparticles additionally comprise edible lipid.
 3. Process according toclaim 2, wherein the lipid is a fat.
 4. Process according to any ofclaims 1 to 3, wherein the solid structuring agent particles areprepared using a micronisation process.
 5. Spreadable edible dispersionhaving a fat content of 70 wt. % or less wherein the dispersion has aStevens value, measured at room temperature as defined herein of 30 g ormore, preferably 50 g or more, more preferably 80 g or more and mostpreferably 100 g or more.
 6. Spreadable edible dispersion according toclaim 5, wherein the dispersion is a low-fat water-in-oil emulsionspread having a fat content of 45 wt. % or less, more preferred 33-45wt. %
 7. Low-fat emulsion spread according to claim 5 comprising from 3to 25 wt. % sterol, more preferred from 7 to 15 wt. % sterol. 8.Spreadable edible dispersion according to any of claims 5-7, wherein thedispersion has a water droplet size as defined herein of 5 μm or less.